March 7, 2016

THE MODERATOR: We'll begin with San Diego State. Coach, if we can start with you, general thoughts on today's game.

HEAD COACH STACIE TERRY: We're happy to have come out on top. We were lucky enough to beat a really good Wyoming team today, who gave us everything they possibly could. It was a close game going into that fourth quarter, and I thought our young ladies responded well to the numerous runs that they made. They are led by a very good ball player, Marquelle Dent, who has done wonderful things for this league. Proud of our girls, proud of the complete game that we played tonight. And looking forward to the challenge that faces us tomorrow.

Q. For either player, you guys pulled within 2 there late in the quarter, and they didn't score another basket until about a minute and a half. Is there anything you did different defensively to hold them on such a long scoring drive?
McKYNZIE FORT: I think Wyoming is a very capable team of scoring. It's important to try to stop them in transition, that's their best offensive game. We focused on our defense and keyed in on their key players.

DEIDRA SMITH: Our coach told us they were going to make a run. It's the Mountain West Tournament. So we had to buckle down and focus on our defensive principles.

Q. Just curious, you're used to traveling throughout the year, you do two-game road trips. But did the up and back in losing here Friday, maybe some kind of stigma? Were you guys concerned about that at all? You pulled out the W, but was there a concern as far as being here Friday and going home and turning around and coming back Monday?
HEAD COACH STACIE TERRY: No, not much of a concern. We thought about this at the beginning of the season, whether or not we wanted to go home. We thought about staying. It was important for me to get them home to sleep in their own beds for two nights. Fortunately it's such a quick trip we were able to get back. I don't think it bothered us. These kids were so ready for this tournament, we could have been here two weeks, and they would have been ready for tonight.

Q. During the third quarter when they pulled within 2, it seemed like every single time you came up with big buckets. What was the key to finding the answer when they got close?
McKYNZIE FORT: Coach told us we were getting anxious, trying to score quick. But being able to reverse the ball, using the shot clock gave us a look at a better shot.

DEIDRA SMITH: When they began to pull in, it was more about us staying composed. We knew they were going to make a run. Every time they pulled in within 6 or 6, we had an answer, whether it was us making a big basket or whatever.

HEAD COACH STACIE TERRY: It goes to the experience that these young ladies have been put in this year. We've been in a lot of close games and not come out on the winning side. So through that experience I think they've learned how to stay composed and make the right decisions. So through those losses and that stretch where we lost a few, I think it's just prepared us for these moments like that when they make the runs.

Like I said, this is a very, very good league, and all of these games are going to be competitive. We just made the right shots at the right time. We were happy to have been able to finish those plays.

Q. Coach, as the players said, you made them aware that they were going to make a run. So in that third quarter when they made that run, did that ever get in your mind like this is the concern as far as defeating them for a third time?
HEAD COACH STACIE TERRY: We talked about it briefly before we left San Diego, that it's hard to beat a third team. It was going to be challenging, and take an extreme amount of effort, energy and focus to do that on the road. This is a very good team. It was close in Wyoming when we played there. And close again, low-scoring contest in San Diego. I knew with the leaders they had and the coaching staff that they had that they were going to make this a great game. It is hard to beat anybody three times. It's hard to win in the conference tournament. So we're happy and lucky to get the win.